Isiolo poachers gunned down, rifles and ivory recovered

A KWS ranger inspects a poached elephant carcass in this undated photo. Two suspected poachers were gunned down and ivory recovered in Mlango area in Isiolo County on Tuesday (January 8, 2013).

NAIROBI, KENYA (January 9, 2013) Two suspected poachers have been gunned down and a G3 rifle, 12 rounds of ammunition and eight pieces of ivory recovered in Mlango area in Isiolo County on Tuesday (January 8, 2013). Assorted weapons and a weighing scale were also recovered.
Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) rangers were not hurt in the late evening shoot out.
The felled gang was linked to a spate of elephant poaching in the area. Police from Isiolo have visited the scene of crime and are helping with further investigations.
Preliminary result in a 2012 aerial census estimate elephant population at 6,454 in the 59,000 km2 Laikipia, Samburu and Marsabit ecosystem. Kenya has about 39,000 elephants.
On Sunday (January 6, 2013), two poaching suspects were arrested and a Carbine rifle with one round of ammunitions and ivory weighing 19kgs recovered at Murit in the same county. KWS officials were following up information volunteered by members of the public that led to the arrest of the gang.
Last weekend an entire family of twelve elephants were poached and tusks carted off at Bisadi area of Tsavo East National Park. One of the discovered carcass belonged to a juvenile elephant estimated at two months of age. No arrest has been made following this single biggest massacre of elephants in recent past.